Mountain men target cricket glory

THEY’VE only been in existence four years but the march of the mountain men continues apace.

Mt Crosby has two of the three teams contesting the Ipswich Division 3 finals.

Last year their only team in the division finished mid-table.

This season Mt Crosby Sky are already into the final as minor premiers while Mt Crosby Navy will play Northsiders at Keith Sternberg Oval for the chance to meet them in the decider.

It could have been a home semi-final for Navy had day two of their final round match against Marburg not been rained out.

As it was no result was possible but Northsiders had already sealed first innings points from day one of their match against Brothers, securing the home semi.

If Navy meet Sky in the final it should one heck of a game. Last time they met the game ended with Sky needing 22 runs to win outright with one wicket left.

That was after forcing Navy to follow on.

Sky’s Steve Lewis is the leading wicket taker in the competition and a big reason for his team’s success, along with the batting of veteran Peter Ashburn.

“He’s about 58 but has been been putting in some hard yards holding their batting together with some good 50s,” proud club president Alan Donovan said of Ashburn.

Second on the wicket taker’s list is Navy’s Mitch Brown who, along with the batting of Steve Drew, ensured his team reached the finals.

“To have them both in the finals is very pleasing,” Donovan said. “I guess we’ve had more players join the club this year and having our own turf wicket makes us more attractive.”

The club hopes to field a team in Division 2 next season.